Tour de France preview: Stage 3

Location! Location! Location! After fighting to be in the front echelon yesterday, today the teams must fight again on the narrow roads of the Ardennes as the peloton faces a stage with more than a flavour of Flèche Wallonne.

Monday 6th July: Stage 3 – Antwerp to Huy, rolling, 159.5km

Stage 3 profile: Tour de France 2015

There are four short, sharp ascents to be tackled today, three within the last 20km, and that’s going to make for a nervous peloton as everyone tries to stay in the first 20 or so riders. Potential stage winners need to be positioned perfectly at the foot of 1.3km Mur de Huy and time their effort precisely over the 9.6% gradient – go too early and the Huy will bite you. Riders with an eye on the GC will be alert to time losses – Nibali and Quintana can’t afford to lose any more time than they did yesterday! – and everyone will be worried about crashes. Hashtag for the day: #StayAlert.